The green way!

Courtney Cox, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon — the list goes on when it comes to celebrities who have benefited from essential oils and hydrolats. While you may be familiar with the former, the latter is a fairly new step forward in alternative healing. When we distill plant material, we end up with a mixture that has two components. One is the plant’s essential oil that floats on the surface and the other is the water based hydrolat or hydrosol — the qualities of both are incomparable when it comes to therapy.

HYDROLATS: In olden times, orange flowers were distilled purely for their hydrolats while the essential oil (today a very expensive product) used to be discarded as the ‘fat.’ They are gentler than essential oils and can be safely used on sensitive skin.  Since our body is largely composed of water, the soluble compounds from plants have a natural affinity with human tissues. They can be used as facial skin toners, before and after massages.  The pH value of hydrolats vary between 4 and 6 depending on the type of plant used. This is a perfect pH when it comes to skin care. They can be used as a simple facial splash and also as a blending medium for facial packs as well. Different skin toners can be made with hydrolats obtained from different plants, depending on your skin type. Hydrolats derived from citrus and floral plants are cooling in nature and can aid in reducing enlarged pores and toning the skin in the Indian climate. Regular use of suitable hydrolats can enhance one’s complexion and act as a defence system by disinfecting and fighting bacteria.

ESSENTIAL OILS: These oils can play a crucial role in addressing issues of fatigue, dullness and dryness caused by heat, sweat and pollution. Instead of buying sunscreens, you could try out essential oils with natural SPF. These include red raspberry seed oil (SPF between 30 and 50), carrot seed oil  (SPF 30), wheat germ oil (SPF 20), hazelnut oil (SPF 15), soybean oil (SPF 10), shea butter (SPF 10) and macadamia oil (SPF 6).

Oils such as rosemary, peppermint and lavender can be combined with grape seed oil and wheat germ oil to form a good conditioning treatment for hair that suffers from over-exposure to sun, wind and swimming pool chlorine. A blend of German chamomile, lavender and eucalyptus combined with aloe vera gel can be very beneficial to blisters and rashes.

An important thing to know while using hydrolat or essential oil therapies is that most essential oil blends are handmade. Strong emulsifiers and chemicals have not been used to protect the natural essence of the product. Shake the liquid products well before use. Also increase your intake of water or green tea to aid these oils.

— The writer is a certified aromatherapist and the founder of Wikka